Nothing Changed, Expect Neji
by Merle the Great
Summary: After the Fourth Great Shinobi War, with Hinata as the clanhead of the Hyuuga clan and Naruto as the Hokage, Neji hoped for things to change for better. That didn't happen. He still had the same cursed seal that every Branch member has. Neji is angry at Hinata, angry at Naruto. Then he loses control of his anger and certain snake sannin gives him offer he can't refuse...
1. Still a Branch Member

**Yeah, new fic. It's actually my first non-crossover fic. My other two stories will be updated during weekend.**

**This idea came to me when I was reading lots of stories by some other writers (can't remember what) and yeah, here it is.**

**This time I skipped prologue, and the prologue is included in the Chapter 1.**

**EDIT: fixed some typos and mistakes 8.1.2015 (M/D/Y)**

**I don't own Naruto**

"Talking"

_"Thinking, Flashback"_

"**Jutsu****"**

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><p>Nothing Changed, Expect Neji<p>

Chapter 1: Still a Branch Member

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><p>Obito Uchiha, the man who posed as Madara Uchiha and kept the shinobi world in fear, was dead. His plans of bringing peace to the world through hatred had been stopped by the new hero of the ninja world, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and Hero of the Leaf; Naruto Uzumaki, the son of the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash of Konoha.<p>

He didn't do it alone though, no. He was helped by his friends and the traitor of Konoha, Orochimaru, along with his so called 'best friend', Sasuke Uchiha. The traitorous Uchiha had brought his two team-mates, Juugo and Suigetsu, with him.

All four of them had been given a change to join Konoha and have all their crimes forgiven. With the exception of Suigetsu, who joined Kirigakure later, accepted the offer and were now shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village.

When the mourning of the victims of war had been done, Tsunade stepped down from her position as the Hokage and passed the title to Naruto, who actually cried in happines. The decision was accepted by everyone in the village, and Naruto was greeted with acceptance of everyone, the dream he hadn't told anyone and the biggest dream he ever had.

The council of Konoha had also gotten changes. Due to the deaths of the previous clanheads, the Nara, Yamanaka and Hyuuga clans had new clanheads. Shikamaru, Ino and Hinata took their parents' places.

Due to being near Naruto most of the time, Hinata was able gather enough confidence to confess to the man she had had a crush on since the Academy. To say the least, Naruto was shocked, but then it all came to him, all the faintings and sluttering when he spoke to her, her offering help during the chunin exam, everything. They started dating after that, and soon there were rumors around the village about 'the Hokage's new girlfriend'.

Naruto was truly happy.

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><p>Neji sighed as he got up from his bed. He had been training to the midnight. Even if the war had ended almost a year ago, he couldn't stay away from training. The fact that his sensei and Lee where extremely happy for it, and didn't leave him alone, didn't help at all; it only made it worse.<p>

And then there was the matter with Hinata. At first, he had been happy for her being the clanhead, and he had gotten new hope for getting rid of the cursed seal. And then he had been extremely happy for her to finally confess her crush.

But not anymore.

After almost five months without her doing anything about the family branches, he had went to search for her. When he didn't find her, he figured to ask Naruto about it.

_FLASHBACK_

_Neji knocked on the door that led to Hokage's office. After hearing tired 'come in', he stepped in the office and saw very tired looking Naruto behind a pile of paperwork. "Oh, hey Neji. What do you need?" Naruto asked, standing up from his seat to greet his friend._

_Neji, however, wasn't on happy mood, so he just stared at Naruto seriously._

_"Naruto, do you happen to know where Hinata is? I have some things to ask her", Neji said, making Naruto think hard._

_"Nah, haven't seen her since yesterday. I can take your message to her, if you want", Naruto said with his trademark smirk, making Neji smile a little, but it disappeared quickly._

_"Thank you, Naruto. I wanted to ask her about taking the cursed seal off the Branch members, including me", Neji said, trying not to sound angry. Naruto looked a little surprised at the words of Neji, especially the tone he said 'cursed seal'._

_Naruto just nodded, earning a nod from Neji as well, before the Hyuuga exited the room._

_FLASHBACK END  
><em>

After that, Hinata had said to she would 'look into it', but Neji had doubted that even back then.

Neji sighed again and got dressed to his attire (the one he uses in Shippuuden). He made his way out of the room and out of the clan compound. Some main members looked at him in disgust as he passed them. Apparently the Main House didn't like the idea of getting the cursed seals off the Branch members.

Just when he was about to exit the compound, someone pumbed onto him. "Hey, watch it, Branch member!" Neji just glared at the random main branch member in anger, before continuing his trip to his favourite training ground.

When he arrived the training ground, he saw Hanabi with her team. He tried not to look angry at the spoiled brat, and managed somewhat calm expression. When he got closer, one of Hanabi's team member saw him and pointed his finger at him. "Hey, Hanabi. Isn't that your cousin?" the Genin asked, making everyone look at Neji.

"What do you want, Neji?" Hanabi asked rudely, making Neji's mask slip for a second.

"I don't want anything from you. I just came here to use the training ground. I rented it for the whole week last Sunday", Neji said casually, glancing at the Jonin instructor, who happened to be Genma Shiranui.

Genma sighed and took his senbon out off his mouth. "Sorry, Neji. Hokage-sama gave us permission to use this training ground. All of them were full and you already had used this for three days", Genma said tiredly, making Neji's mask slip for at least two seconds.

_"Why would Naruto do that? He could have asked me firs-", _Neji thought, but was cut off by his annoying cousin, who had annoying smirk on her face.

"You heard sensei, Neji. Be gone. Your kind isn't allowed to be in my presence", Hanabi said arrogantly, making Neji clench his hands to fists. He was just about to leave, when she opened her mouth again.

"What's taking so long Branch membe-", she started, but was cut off by Neji punching her in the face, making her fly to a wall. Just as she hit the wall, Neji ran to her side and took a grip of her throat, choking her. She gasped for air and looked Neji in the eyes. His **Byakugan** was activated.

Then Genma took Neji in a neck lock. "That's enough, Neji. If you don't want me to have ANBU take you to the Hokage-sama, you should calm down", the Jonin said and allowed Neji to move, but stood in front of Hanabi, just in case.

Neji just glared past Genma to Hanabi, who was being helped up by her team-mates, before body flickering away.

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><p>Sakura was at the Konoha hospital. She had been working nonstop since 5 am, and it was already 9 am. She still had the whole day to work. She sighed and put a file of some Konoha shinobi away. Thats when the door to the hospital opened, revealing Hanabi on Genma's arms.<p>

Sakura gasped as she saw the little sister of her friend, Hinata. She had her nose broken, her back was bleeding and she seemed to have trouble breathing. The apperentice of Tsunade rushed to Genma's side with two nurse's behind her bringing a bed for the young Hyuuga.

When they had the girl brought to an empty room, Sakura ran a diagnose and gasped at what she found. The girl had scratches on her spine, her windpipe had been crushed and she had a broken collarbone.

"Were you on a mission?" Sakura asked and ordered emergency surgery for the girl.

"No. We where at the Training Ground Three", Genma answered, making Sakura look at him in surprise. For something like this to happen in the village was something you didn't see everyday.

"What happened then? I can't think of anything", Sakura asked as Hanabi was took to the surgery.

"I'll tell you after the surgery. Just make sure she'll be okay", Genma said and Sakura could see sadness and anger in the Jonin's face, but the anger was directed elsewhere.

Sakura nodded and went to the surgery room.

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><p>Meanwhile, Neji was killing animals in the Training Ground 44, or the Forest of Death. None of the other Training Grounds where availabe at the time, so he figured to go there. He was, after all, jonin.<p>

Neji let out angry shout as he killed another giant spider that was trying to attack him. It was the last animal on the clearing he stood at, so he allowed himself to drop to the ground and wait for his chakra to restore again. It would take some time. After all, he wasn't a stamina freak like Naruto. The thought of Naruto made him angrier. Why would the Hokage give a permission to some team to train on a training ground when it was rented to him?

Neji punched the ground in anger and muttered: "That damn Naruto." That was when he heard someone chuckling behind him. Neji turned around and saw someone he didn't want to see at the moment.

Orochimaru.

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><p>Genma paced in front of the surgery room. He had had no idea it would be that bad. If he had, he would have had that Neji brought to the Hokage. The jonin glenched his fists in anger. Hanabi had been rude towards her cousin, but it didn't give Neji any right to attack her.<p>

He was brought out of his thoughts when the door of the surgery room opened, revealing a smiling Sakura Haruno. That made Genma sigh in relief.

"She'll need some rest, but she'll live", Sakura said, smiling ever so gently. Then suddenly, her expression turned serious. "Now tell me, what happened?" she demanded.

"I was on the Training Ground Three, like I told you before. Everything was going like I had planned, until Hanabi's cousin arrived", Genma explained, making Sakura's eyes widen. Neji? "He started by asking what we were doing there, because he had apparently rented the ground for this week. I informed him we had the permission from the Hokage to use it for today. He seemed to get angry from that, but stayed calm, until Hanabi mocked him. Then Neji punched Hanabi and started choking her. Luckily, I was fast enough to stop him from killing her."

Sakura stared at Genma, who had a look of anger in his eyes, with her mouth hanging open. Neji had punched his cousin? And then proceed to choke her? Why would Neji do that? "Come on, Genma. We have to inform Naruto of this", Sakura said and rushed out of the hospital with Genma close behind.

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><p>"What do you want, Orochimaru?" Neji asked the snake sannin, who just chuckled more at his question.<p>

"Kukukuku. Why be so angry, Neji-kun? What ever happened to make the genius of Hyuuga clan so angry?" Orochimaru asked with an obviously faked wonder in his voice. He had been following Neji after he had snapped at his cousin.

"Why should I tell you?" Neji asked and got up from the ground. He looked around warily, as if the trees had ears. That made Orochimaru chuckle even more.

"Kukuku. Why shouldn't you? I'm a fellow Konoha shinobi." Orochimaru said with interest. Now he truly wanted to hear the answer.

Orochimaru was right. He was a fellow Konoha shinobi now. Neji sighed in defeat and looked at the snake sannin in the eyes. "When Hinata became the clanhead and Naruto the Hokage, I thought my dream had some hope. I hoped they would get rid of the cursed seal of the Branch House. I was wrong. They don't even care", Neji said in anger, making Orochimaru widen his eyes ever so slightly. The sannin had no idea it was because of that, that Neji was so angry.

Then he got an idea. He had been looking for finally getting his revenge on Konoha for the past year, and now he had good opportunity that he wasn't going to waste.

"Tell me, Neji. What would you give if someone was able to get your cursed seal off?" Orochimaru asked curiously. If he was right, he would have a person more loyal to him than Kabuto ever was.

Neji widened his eyes at the question. Did he mean? No, he shouldn't get his hopes too up. "That someone would have my loyalty. I would be in a life long dept", Neji answered truthfully. He had always dreamed of being free from the seal, and would give everything to get it off.

Orochimaru chuckled once again and motioned for Neji to follow him. "Come, Neji. Let's discuss this on our way to one of my bases." Orochimaru said and jumped out of the clearing.

Neji hesitated a little, but followed after the sannin.

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><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>

**So, what do you think?**

**I have been looking for something like this for a while, and haven't found anything. So, I decided to write this.**

**Sorry if Hanabi's injuries were not believable enough. I'm no medic.**

**Yeah, next chapter sometimes this month, I'd say.**

**And don't forget to review!**


	2. The Wish Granted

**New chapter...It's been a while. More than a month or something? **

**Anyway, I checked the reviews and this one person, don't remember who, said: "interesting pairing." **

**Sigh, will people ever learn that if a story has two characters, it doesn't automatically mean there is gonna be that pairing? I guess not.**

**And Orochimaru call's everyone '-kun' or something.**

**So no, this story is not NejixOrochimaru or anything.**

**This is the exact reason why they added the pairing opinion.**

**EDIT: Fixed some typos and mistakes 8.1.2015 (M/D/Y)**

**I don't own Naruto.**

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><p>Nothing Changed, Expect Neji<p>

Chapter 2: The Wish Granted

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><p>"Here we are, Neji-kun", Orochimaru stated. They were somewhere in the forest at a seemingly random clearance. At least to Neji, that was. The Hyuuga watched in silence as Orochimaru walked towards a tree, before raising his hand to touch it. With a tiny amount of chakra, a hole opened next to the tree, revealing a dark stairway.<p>

Orochimaru turned to look at Neji, who was looking at the hole warily. "The tree has a seal on it that opens the passageway when my chakra is sent to it. No one else can open it", Orochimaru explained like Neji didn't know anything. Orochimaru then turned to walk down the stairs, Neji following close by.

It was a long walk and Neji took the time to think of the agreement they currently held.

_FLASHBACK_

_The two of them were jumping from tree to tree in silence, until Orochimaru decided to talk. "So, Neji-kun. You ready to hear my offer?" the snake sannin asked, without turning to look at the Hyuuga. Not waiting for Neji to answer, Orochimaru continued: "The offer is this: I'll take care of the cursed seal, but don't tell anyone you don't have it anymore and cover your forehead always. It would be too suspicious if you suddenly got rid of the seal. In return, you will aid me in my future plans and you will answer to me over the Hokage. Any questions?"_

_Neji thinked of it. Did he really want to get rid of the seal that badly, that he would answer to Orochimaru? He didn't even need to think of it. He had wanted the seal off his whole life._

_"Only one. When do we get to your base?" Neji asked, making Orochimaru smirk his dark smirk._

_FLASHBACK END_

Suddenly, Orochimaru stopped walking, making Neji come out of his thoughts. They had arrived to the end of the stairway and stood in front of a door. Orochimaru placed his hand over it, channeling chakra to it, and the door opened. Orochimaru stepped in the dark room, with Neji following. A first, Neji didn't see anything, but after couple of seconds, he could see a table and a chair.

"Sit down, Neji-kun. This won't take long", Orochimaru said and walked to the table and took something from it. It was a syringe with something inside of it. Neji stared at it without blinking, but sat down on the chair. Orochimaru stabbed the syringe to Neji's hand, without warning, and Neji started to feel sleepy.

"Don't worry, Neji-kun. When you wake up, you'll be freed from your burden", said the voice of Orochimaru.

And with that, Neji fell unconscious.

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><p>Sakura barked in the Hokage's room with Genma in tow, only to see the blonde sleeping with his head buried in the paperwork. "WAKE UP YOU BAKA!" Sakura shouted and punched Naruto's desk, startling the Hokage from his sleep.<p>

"W-What, Sakura-chan! I wasn't sleeping! Just erm... taking a little break, that's all", said the not-so-sleepy Naruto at the sight of the pink-haired Kunoichi.

Sakura forced hershelf to calm down and Genma stepped forward. "Hokage-sama! We have something to inform you about Neji Hyuuga", he said formally, making Naruto snap his eyes to look at the Jonin.

"Speak", ordered Naruto. He wanted to know what could be happening with his friend.

Sakura cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "He attacked his cousin Hanabi and if it wasn't for Genma, for bringing her to hospital, and me, for making a surgeon, she would be dead", she said as calmly as she could, but Naruto could see she was outrageous.

"Why would Neji do that. Its not like him to attack like that", Naruto said in a whisper. He couldn't believe what Sakura was telling him. Neji, attack his cousin? He slowly stood up from his seat, but was looking down, hair shadowing his face.

"N-Naruto?" Sakura asked. She had never seen Naruto like that and it scared her.

Naruto glanced at Sakura and Genma. "You two are dismissed." The two of them nodded and walked out of the room, but not without Sakura glancing back once more. When the two had exited, Naruto turned to look out of the window and spoke calmly, but with a voice full of authority: "ANBU!" four shadows jumped down to the front of his desk. The shadows revealed to be four shinobi wearing masks, crouched down to bow to their Hokage.

Naruto turned to look at the ANBU. "Get me Neji Hyuuga. Look from the village. If you find him, bring him to me. If don't, look from five mile range outside it. If you still don't find him, come back here. Dismissed", Naruto ordered, getting a chorus of 'Hokage-sama' from them and the ANBU jumped out of the room.

With the ANBU gone, he fell back to his chair. Being Hokage sure wasn't as easy as he had thought back when he was a child.

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><p>Neji opened his eyes slowly. His skin burned at his forehead. He slowly brought his hand to his forehead, and gasped as he didn't feel the seal, only his skin. He shot up from his laying position and looked around the room. It didn't look familiar to him.<p>

"Ah, you have awaken", a voice came from his right, making him look at the source. It was Orochimaru. "How do you feel?" the snake sannin asked curiously. Now Neji remembered what had happened. To think the cursed seal was finally off... it made him feel like a happy child he never was...

"Better than in... forever actually", Neji answered. He heard a chuckle from the sannin, but paid it no mind and stepped out of the chair that had been turned to bed.

"I took the privilege to give you some of the muscle enchantment and chakra enchantment drugs created by Kabuto. Don't worry, they won't cause any harm to you, they only make you stronger", Orochimaru stated calmly, making Neji snap his eyes to look at him.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Neji sighed and straightened and faced the sannin fully. "So, what now?" Neji asked. Despite just waking up, he was tired.

Orochimaru just shrugged and began walking towards the entrance. "Now, you go back to the village. Return to your duties and wait for me to summon you", Orochimaru said and walked up the stairs. Neji followed after him only a second later, but when he came out of Orochimaru's base, he didn't see the sannin. The entrance closed behind him and Neji looked at the sky with a serious face, only for it to turn into a bright smile.

With that, he jumped towards the village.

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><p>When Neji arrived at the gates of Konohakagure, a team of ANBU appeared in front of him. "Neji Hyuuga, Hokage has requested your presense. Come with us peacefully, and we shall not hurt you", The captain of the group said formally, making Neji narrow his eyes. They stood still for couple of seconds, the ANBU already thinking Neji would attack them, but Neji just nodded and followed after them.<p>

At the Hokage tower, Naruto was already waiting for them. He nodded respectfully towards the ANBU captain and dismissed them with a wave. When they were gone, probably just out of sight, Naruto turned to look at Neji.

"Neji Hyuuga, I heard of you attacking Hanabi Hyuuga", Naruto began with a voice of no emotion, that surprised Neji greatly. "I should have you arrested for attacking another ninja of your village", Naruto continued, making Neji narrow his eyes. Really? This was the reason he wanted to see him? Neji's rage towards Naruto grew, and he was ready to escape if something happened. "However, I forgive you this once, because you were provoked by Hanabi and you are my friend." Naruto's glare softened and he gave Neji a small smile.

"Neji, is something wrong with you? You can ask your friends for help, you know", Naruto asked softly. Neji just glared at the Uzumaki. How dare this man act all friendly after that?

"Nothing is wrong with me. If that's all, I'll take my leave, Hokage-sama", Neji said as calmly as he could. He needed some training.

Naruto looked little hurt that his friend denied his help, but nodded, and soon Neji was out of the office. On his way out of the tower, Neji saw Hinata Hyuuga walking towards Naruto's office. She smirked when Neji glared angrily at her. When they passed each other, Hinata whispered to his ear all too gently: "Do something like that again to Hanabi and I will kill you."

With that, the two continued on their ways.

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><p>Naruto sighed and sat down on his chair and laid his head on the desk. Just then, someone entered his office, making him almost shout at the person for entering without knocking, but halted, as it was Hinata Hyuuga, his most favorite person in the world.<p>

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted happily and rushed towards Hinata and gave her a small peck on the lips. "How are you today?" Naruto asked and took a chair for her to sit at, before sitting down on his own chair.

"Naruto-kun, I heard that my cousin, Neji, attacked my sister", Hinata said, making Naruto look serious all of a sudden.

"Oh, yes. I already took care of that. I gave him a warning, should he ever attack someone from Konoha again, he will be arrested", Naruto said, making Hinata look shocked.

Naruto was about to say something, when Hinata said: "You didn't arrest him? But, he is a danger to the citizens of Konohagakure! Hanabi almost died!" Hinata protested angrily, making Naruto gain a small sweat drop and wave his hands around.

"B-But Hinata-chan, Neji is our friend!" Naruto tried to reassure her, but she was having none of it. She just crossed her arms under her breasts and looked out of a window.

"What kind of friend attacks your sister?" she asked, making Naruto sigh in defeat.

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><p>Orochimaru smirked at the new development. Apparently, Naruto was under Hinata's thumb, and Hinata didn't take lightly the attack against her sister. The snake sannin jumped down from the roof of the Hokage tower and made his way towards the Training Ground 44, also known as the Forest of Death, where he knew Neji would be.<p>

When he arrived, he saw many bloody animals scattered on the ground, most likely dead, and in the middle of it all stood one man, his white shirt dirty by the blood of the animals, an angry look on his face.

Neji turned to look at Orochimaru when the snake sannin chuckled darkly at the sight before him. "What do you want, Orochimaru? I'm busy killing everything in my sight", Neji stated, making Orochimaru's always present smirk widen.

"Kukuku, I came to inform you about something you should know, Neji-kun", Orochimaru said, his snake-like eyes shifting between Neji and the bloody animals.

Neji narrowed his eyes and activated his **Byakugan**, before crossing his arms and changing his weight from right foot to left.

"Speak."

"I happened to overhear a conversation between Naruto-kun and your cousin, Hinata. She didn't take it lightly, Naruto-kun letting you go so easily. She wants you arrested", Orochimaru said, making Neji's eyes widen.

"B-But Naruto isn't going to let h-", Neji gasped out, still in shock, only to be cut off by Orochimaru's chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Neji asked angrily. How could this man laugh at the times like this?

"Oh, it's nothing, Neji-kun. I'm just amused that you think he would be able to stop her. After all he has done to you", Orochimaru stated, making Neji narrow his eyes.

"How can you be so sure?" he didn't want to jump into a conclusion before having proof.

"Well, let's just say that Naruto-kun can't do anything without your cousin telling him what to do", Orochimaru said, making Neji look down and clench his hands into fists in anger.

_"He's telling the truth. I can tell by the way his chakra flows normaly. I'm totally getting arrested if I don't do something", _Neji thought and sighed, veins around his eyes going back to normal as his **Byakugan** deactivated.

"What should I do? You're a sannin, you should know", Neji asked and looked Orochimaru straight in the eyes. Orochimaru looked towards the gates of the forest, before turning back to Neji.

"We'll see what they're up to. You get arrested for couple of days, so I can work something out. Then, I'll free you", Orochimaru replied, making Neji think again.

_"Get arrested? Why should I do that? Oh well..."_

Neji nodded and was about to leave, when Orochimaru called out after him:

"Oh, and Neji-kun." Neji glanced back at him.

"Don't go down without a fight."

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><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>

**So, what do you think?**

**Sorry for the long wait! I'll try to do better in the future...**

**I'll be adding cover to this soon. Thought I'd tell you..**

**This has nothing to do with the story, but if you like Melodic Death Metal, check out Scar Symmetry. I was listening to it while writing this :D**

**Next chapter coming when I feel like writing it.**

**And don't forget to review!**


	3. Change of Plans

**So, even though this story didn't win the poll, here's a new chapter!**

**EDIT: Fixed some typos and mistakes 8.1.2015 (M/D/Y)**

**I don't own Naruto.**

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><p>Nothing Changed, Expect Neji<p>

Chapter 3: Change of Plans

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><p>Neji walked the streets of Konoha with no real destination in mind. He was about to walk to the Hyuuga compound, when he heard a voice:<p>

"Well, well, well. If it isn't one the Branch members of the family", the voice said mockingly, making Neji look at the direction. There were three main family members looking smugly at him. Neji narrowed his eyes, but just turned around and continued walking.

"Oi, oi, oi! Were do you think you're going? Come here this instant, that's an order!" one of them shouted angrily. Neji looked at him and took in his attire. He was wearing a Chunin vest.

"You can't order me, I'm Jonin and you're a Chunin. I'm higher ranked", Neji replied, making the three of them glare angrily at him. The one who shouted at him suddenly had a smug grin as he brought his hands to make a seal familiar to Neji. He tried to activate Neji's cursed seal! Neji couldn't have that; they would know he didn't have it anymore.

However, before he could, Neji appeared behind him and blocked his tenketsu, stopping the technique. Neji didn't stop there, as he launched a kick at the one next to him, sending him flying. The third seemed to realize what was going on and attacked Neji with his Gentle Fist, only for Neji to duck and strike him in the stomach with his own Gentle Fist, blocking his chakra. The one Neji kicked rose to his feet and rushed at him, only for him to get the same treatment as the other two.

Neji crossed his arms at the sight before him. He smirked smugly and said: "Is that all? I expected more from main members." Then he stepped over the beaten forms and walked into the compound to get his stuff. He walked past some people who paid him no mind and to his room, where he packed everything he saw useful into a bag and slung the bag over his shoulder.

When he was about to walk out of the compound, he saw people standing over the three he beaten up. They seemed to be civilians. One of them spotted him an sighed in relief.

"Hey, Shinobi-san! Good thing you came by when you did. We foun-", the man stopped when Neji just walked past them, not even sparing a glance at them. They looked confused, but then one of them seemed to realize something.

"Y-You're the one who did this! YOU MONST-", He was cut off as he flew into a building, probably dead. The others backed away when they saw Neji standing where the man previously was. One woman screamed in fright and suddenly everyone started running away from him.

Neji just shrugged and continued walking towards the gates of Konoha. He didn't get far though as ANBU squad surrounded him.

"Neji Hyuuga, you are under arrest by the orders of Hokage-sama. Come quietly and you shall be left unharmed", the captain of the squad ordered, earning a glance from Neji. The Hyuuga had a bored look on his face as he replied:

"How about... no."

The ANBU reacted fast as Neji suddenly rushed at them with a great speed. Even trained as they were, they had trouble keeping up with him. The captain flashed through hand seals and wooden pilars rose from the ground around Neji, forcing him to jump out of the way, Neji smirked at that. The captain had brown hair, so Neji was pretty sure who the man was.

"I remember you. Yamato, was it?" Neji asked smugly. He had to duck quickly as one of the ANBU slashed at him with a katana. Neji took a kunai from his pouch and slashed at the one attacking, managing to cut his hand slightly.

"You know, for an ANBU, you guy's aren't that great", Neji continued and activated his **Byakugan** and using **Kaiten (Rotation)** quickly as two ANBU jumped at him at once. One of the ANBU managed to dodge, but the other one crashed right into it. The ANBU let out a pained scream as he crashed into the ground, his body in cuts from the attack.

Yamato cursed silently, before pointing at two other ANBU. "One of you take him to hospital and the other call in reinforcements. I don't think they are needed, but it's better to be safe than sorry." The two nodded, other taking the injured and both jumped away.

Yamato turned to look at the other ANBU left and nodded. The ANBU nodded back and summoned a scroll, brush and ink bottle, before drawing quickly on it. Three black and white tigers leaped towards Neji. The Hyuuga widened his eyes, but quickly used **Kaiten (Rotation)** again, managing to destroy the ink beasts. When the technique ended, Neji quickly slashed his kunai at an ink snake that tried to jump at him from behind and threw the kunai at a bird flying towards him.

"And you are Sai, correct? Naruto sure showed favorism to those allowed in ANBU", Neji spat angrily and rushed at Sai, who leaned backwards to dodge the strike. He became alerted as Neji smirked suddenly. Sai couldn't do anything as Neji brought his Gentle Fist down on him. The ANBU was saved as wood pillars rose under Neji, forcing him to dodge.

"He's not the only one you're fighting with!"

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><p>Orochimaru walked in the Konoha's Dango Shop and saw his former student sitting there. With a smirk, he sat in front of her. She didn't even seem to notice him, with her eating a dango. She had always been obsessed with them.<p>

"How rude of you to ignore your sensei like that, Anko", Orochimaru said in a mock hurt tone, making Anko flinch at his voice. The woman looked alarmed as she glared at the sannin sitting in front of her.

"What do you want, Orochimaru?" she spat his name like it was venom. Orochimaru just chuckled at that.

"Is that any way to tread your sensei, Anko?" he asked, his smirk widening at the angry look she had.

"Get to the point before I'll do something I regret", Anko ordered, taking a kunai from her sleeve and standing up. Orochimaru stood as well and they stared at each other, sizing each other up.

The stand off was cut out as a civilian ran past the shop. "THAT MAN IS KILLING PEOPLE! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Orochimaru smirked even wider and his eyes looked mad. Anko immediadedly rushed to the streets and watched the chaos unfold. She snapped her eyes to look at Orochimaru as a chuckle came from next to her. She jumped backwards and released quite the amount of killer intent at the man. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Orochimaru chuckled harder and Anko rushed at him. The sannin easily blocked the strike with his hand and kept Anko from going anywhere.

"Oh, nothing. I just helped certain someone that's all. Speaking of which, I got to go."

And with that, he shunshined away.

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><p>Naruto was waken up from his sleep as someone barked in his office. He rose his head to look at the person and was met with angry looking Sakura. He instantly jumped out of his chair and waved his hands around.<p>

"S-Sakura-chan. I wasn't sleeping, I swea-", he was cut out by Sakura.

"One of your ANBU was attacked. He's currently in hospital," Sakura said, making Naruto's eyes widen.

"W-What?" Naruto asked in surprise. He took a deep breath and became serious.

"Did he say who did it?" Sakura nodded and took a deep breath.

"It was Neji Hyuuga."

Naruto almost fell over at that, but caught himself before he did.

"N-Neji? Are you sure?" Sakura nodded saddly.

Naruto nodded and walked past Sakura. "Sakura, you stay here, I'll go see Nej-", Sakura cut him off by punching him in the head. Naruto cried in pain and clutched his head with both of his arms.

"I'll come with you Naruto. Neji is as much my friend as he's mine."

Naruto just nodded, not wanting to be punched again.

* * *

><p>Neji was exhausted. The two ANBU were too much for him to handle alone. Maybe listening to Orochimaru wasn't such a great idea...<p>

"You did well, Hyuuga, but you're almost out of chakra and we have reinforcements coming soon. Surrender now", Yamato said. He didn't show it, but he was also exhausted and so was Sai. The Hyuuga wasn't just any common shinobi.

Neji sighed in defeat and deactivated his **Byakugan**. It didn't matter, it was their plan all along.

Yamato nodded and looked at Sai, who nodded as well and started advancing towards Neji. He didn't get far though as he flew at a side of a building, bringing dust to the air, blocking Yamato's sight. He was ready for anything. When the dust settled, he saw the attacker. It was Orochimaru.

Neji looked at the sannin in surprise. Orochimaru just smirked and looked at Neji.

"Change of plans, Neji-kun. With you killing people, it's a whole different situation", Orochimaru said, making Yamato's eyes widen.

"Killing people? Why didn't I know about this?" Yamato muttered and readied himself for attack. You never knew with Orochimaru.

Neji shook his head. "Killing people? I didn't kill anyone."

Orochimaru rose an eyebrow and was about to say something, when people jumped into the street. There was the Hokage himself along with his assistant and to Orochimaru's surprise, his very own student.

The instant Sakura saw Sai trying to stand up and failing, she rushed to him and started healing him.

Anko glared at Orochimaru hatefully. "I KNEW YOU WERE BEHIND IT!" She was about to attack, when Naruto put a hand in front of her. She looked like she wanted to kill Naruto, but the Hokage just shook his head.

"Anko", Naruto said gravely, successfully stopping Anko from attacking headlessly. Anko nodded, but kept glaring at her sensei.

Naruto locked his eyes with Neji for a second, before turning to look at Orochimaru.

"What is the meaning of this, Orochimaru?"

Orocimaru just grinned slyly and said: "What does it look like, Naruto-kun? Neji and I are leaving Konoha."

Neji looked surprised, but didn't say anything as Orochimaru glanced at him.

Naruto shook his head and smirked a little.

"Really now, Orochimaru? You should know that Neji would never betray... Konoha," he trailed off as Neji walked next to Orochimaru and crossed his arms across his chest. Naruto's smirk was gone and he looked horrified.

"N-Neji? You can't possibly mea-", he was cut off by Neji rising his hand.

"You send the ANBU to arrest me for no solid reason. Why should I stay loyal to you? Add to that the treatment I receive from my family, I have no reason to stay."

Naruto sighed and steeled himself. "Still, Neji. Is going with Orochimaru really a better choice?"

Neji nodded and took off his headband, showing his forehead without the cursed seal, shocking everyone present with the exception of Orochimaru.

"He has my full loyalty."

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>

**So, what do you think?**

**New chapter when it's done. I'm focusing on one my other stories, so it may take a while.**

**And don't forget to review!**


	4. The Escape

**Here's the new chapter.**

**I didn't remember it being this long without updates to this story as well… almost a year…**

**Also, as someone flamed this story for Naruto bashing, I'm going to say that at the beginning, I had no intention to do any bashing. All bashing is due to the story's nature alone, as I have nothing against Naruto personally, even though his character could use some work.**

**As a matter of fact, in this chapter is some content that could come out as bashing to some people, but don't let that stop you from reading this story, as in the end all will work out for everyone, so hold your horses.**

**Thank you all for sticking with the story even after so long without updates, and I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>Nothing Changed, Except Neji<p>

Chapter 4: The Escape

* * *

><p>Silence filled the streets as the bare forehead of Neji Hyuuga was revealed. The loyal Konoha-nin widened their eyes in disbelief, but Orochimaru of the Sannin's calm face twisted into a smirk he was known for. It wasn't every day when one witnessed such a turn of events and Orochimaru was enjoying it.<p>

"Yes, you see, Naruto-kun, I was able to help Neji accomplish his lifelong dream. Unlike you, who wanted to keep your girl happy and didn't know how else to do it than let her have everything her way", Orochimaru taunted the Hokage, making the said man grit his teeth and clench his hands into fists. The snake sannin was about to continue, only for Neji to rise his hand to stop him.

"Enough, Orochimaru. There is no need for this", he said and tossed the Konoha headband that showed his former allegiance to the ground. The headband landed right next to Naruto's feet.

"I am no longer under your service, _Hokage-sama_. This is the path I choose", Neji said, his voice dripping with venom as he said his former friend's title.

"N-Neji", Naruto managed to say between his teeth. The way his friend -as that's what he viewed the man, even after what had transpired moments ago- spoke hurt him.

The two soon-to-be traitors shared a glance. They would need to get out of the village and soon, if they wanted to make it. That was more difficult than said, though, as they were nowhere near any of the gates of the village. Not to mention the fact that they had Konoha's elite forces after them along with the Hokage and some Jonin.

"Hmph. Orochimaru, you have a plan?" Neji asked and eyed the people surrounding the two of them warily. The sannin just smirked and crossed his arms.

"Oh, Neji-kun. What have I said about doubting me?" he asked with a smirk, making Neji sweat drop.

"Nothing?" Neji guessed, making Orochimaru's left eye twitch slightly.

"Ah, you are correct, Neji-kun. I had you mixed up with Kabuto for a second there", the sannin replied, making Neji sigh.

Suddenly, one of the Konoha-nin had had enough and charged at the two, making hand seals.

"Enough of this!" Anko shouted and finished with the snake sign, before going for a punch that was aimed at Orochimaru.

"**Sen'eijashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)**!" she shouted as three snakes appeared from her sleeve and went to bite the sannin, whose smirk just widened, before three snakes appeared from his own hand and killed the offending snakes. Then, he followed with a kick to Anko's face, only for the Konoha-nin to dodge it and jump away from the sannin.

"How foolish of you, Anko. Using my own technique against me. You should know better", Orochimaru said with a disapproving tone that irritated Anko to no end.

"Teme", Anko growled and prepared to attack the sannin once more, only for Naruto to stop her with a rised hand.

"Enough. He is working you up so you'd make a mistake", he said calmly and stepped forward without looking at the kunoichi behind him. He stopped walking when he was right in front of Neji, who was looking at him almost emotionlessly, but with a hint of anger.

Naruto sighed. "I understand where you're coming from with this, Neji. As your friend, I wish you only good and respect the path you've chosen. However", he said and paused, glancing at Orochimaru, before locking eyes with the Hyuuga again. "As a Hokage, I can't let this betrayal go unpunished", he finished and, just as he did, he threw a punch at the unsuspecting Neji, who was sent flying. Just as this happened, Orochimaru was forced to dodge a kick from Anko.

Neji gritted his teeth and flipped midair, before landing on his feet. Naruto didn't give him any change to breathe, however, as he was already closing in on the Hyuuga. Neji activated his Byakugan and took his Gentle Fist stance, ready for the assault. When Naruto was at his range, Neji saw another Naruto charging at him with a kunai from behind. Neji frowned and took a kunai of his own from his weapon pouch, before blocking the attack from behind and kicking the unarmed Naruto in the stomach.

The Naruto who was kicked smirked as he dispelled, revealing him to be a clone. Neji and the other Naruto were surrounded by smoke, making Neji frown as his vision was worsened by the smoke. Suddenly, the ground beneath Neji cracked as two hands appeared and tried to take a hold of Neji's legs. Neji cursed and jumped to the air, before using the **Kaiten (Rotation), **dispelling both of the Narutos.

_"They were both clones?" _Neji thought and looked around_. "Where is the original?"_

His question was answered as he saw a punch coming towards him and he blocked it with his palm. The two locked eyes and Neji saw the cold look rarely seen in Naruto's eyes.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Orochimaru was dodging Anko's attacks with ease. He had an almost bored look on his face.<p>

"Hn, this is your best, huh? I expected more from my own student", he taunted and Anko growled.

"SHUT UP!" she roared and went through hand seals, ending at tiger.

"**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**!" she shouted and shot a big fireball from her mouth at Orochimaru, who didn't look impressed. The fireball hit its mark and hid the sannin from view and Anko smirked.

"That's what you get!" she said, even though she pretty much knew the battle wasn't over.

Soon enough, she heard a shout: "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)**!"

Smoke erupted from the spot where the sannin had been at and as it cleared, there stood a big brown snake with Orochimaru standing on top of it.

"As interesting as this fight is turning to, I'm afraid we have to cut this short", Orochimaru said as he felt the ANBU reinforces getting closer to their position. He didn't get to do anything, however, as the snake was held in place by wooden pillars.

"You aren't going anywhere, Orochimaru", the one responsible for the pillars called out and Orochimaru turned to see Yamato, who had recovered slightly from his fight with Neji.

Orochimaru frowned. "Oh, and who's stopping me? You?"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Naruto and Neji were staring each other down. Neji was panting slightly, as he had fought both Yamato and Sai before Naruto had arrived, but the said blonde didn't seem faced at all. This fact made Neji grit his teeth.<p>

"Damnit. What's with you and your stamina?" Neji asked, not expecting for an answer. He glanced at the other battle going on and frowned as he saw Orochimaru's snake trapped by Yamato.

The situation didn't look good for Neji. He was almost out of chakra, but Naruto looked like he hadn't been fighting at all. Soon he wouldn't be able to have his Byakugan active. The ANBU reinforcements were about to arrive at any given second now also. Neji would need to get to Orochimaru so they could escape and soon.

"You shouldn't be distracted during a fight!" Neji heard a shout coming from Naruto and ducked under the fist, before sweeping at the blonde's legs, only for the Hokage to jump away from him.

"Listen, Neji. I know made a mistake in letting the branch members not have their cursed seals removed. However, you turning against Konoha won't do any good for you!" Naruto spoke with determination and a hint of sadness, only succeeding in angering Neji more.

"Who do you think you are, Naruto?! Thanks to your incompetense, the branch family members of the Hyuuga are suffering by the hand of the main family! Had you just listened to me and not let Hinata have everything her way, we wouldn't be in this situation! I don't know what has gotten into her, but as her boyfriend, you should get some sense into that thick skull of hers!" Neji shouted with clenched fists, making Naruto look down, his hair shadowing his face.

"I'm sor-" Naruto started, but was cut off by Neji, who threw a punch straight into his face. Naruto fell to the ground, but stayed silent.

"You have no right to apologize after what your actions have done to me! You're a failure as a Hokage!" Neji continued, closing Naruto's tenketsu one by one with his gentle fists. He stopped hia assault, when he felt very weak all of a sudden. He would be out of chakra any second now.

Neji scoffed and stood straight, before turning away towards the fight Orochimaru was in. He glanced at the downed Naruto for one more time.

"Even Danzo would have been a better Hokage than you", he said, adding insult to injury.

With that said, he continued walking.

* * *

><p>While the former friends fought, Orochimaru had managed to destroy the wooden pillars that kept his summon at bay, due to Yamato being out of chakra.<p>

"Kukuku. ANBU-san, I'm disappointed. Is this all you can do?" Orochimaru taunted and went back on the head of his snake. Yamato said nothing, making Orochimaru sigh.

"Not very talkative, are you? Well, no matter."

Just as Orochimaru said that, he saw the beaten up Neji making his way towards him. Orochimaru smirked and looked over to where Naruto was laying, staring at the sky. The sannin ordered his summon to keep the Konoha-nin at bay, before jumping down from its head, landing right in front of Neji.

"Trouble?" Orochimaru asked, making Neji sigh.

Their conversation didn't get any further as suddenly many ANBU filled the rooftops around them. The reinforcements had arrived.

Orochimaru sighed, bit his thump and went through hand seals, stopping at ram.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)**!"

Smoke filled the area and as it cleared, there was even bigger snake than the one before. It opened its eyes and glanced at the two on top of his head.

"Ah, Manda. Could you dispose of these ANBU?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk, earning a nod from the boss summon.

As the snake attacked the ANBU, Orochimaru turned to Neji, offering his hand to Neji.

"Let's get out of here", he simply said, earning a nod from Neji as he placed his hand on Orochimaru's shoulder.

The people around them were forced to watch as they disappeared in flames via **Shunshin (Body Flicker).**

* * *

><p>The two traitors of Konoha were tree hopping towards the Land of Sound. Neji had a hard time keeping up with Orochimaru as his chakra was really low. Orochimaru glanced at the Hyuuga, before producing a blue pill and tossing it at Neji, who caught it and examined it.<p>

"It's a Military Rations pill. Eat it", Orochimaru simply said.

Neji sighed and put the pill in his mouth, before swallowing it. He could almost instantly feel his chakra restoring. The two continued their tree hopping silently for awhile, before Neji decided to ask something:

"Hey, Orochimaru. I thought Manda died."

Orochimaru smirked and chuckled.

"Kukuku. That is correct, Neji-kun. Twice, in fact. The original died at some point while I was 'dead'. I tried summoning it resently, only for a slightly different Manda to be summoned. A work of Kabuto, no doubt. It didn't listen to me, so I killed it and used its cells to create a new Manda", Orochimaru explained, earning a nod from Neji.

"Why name it Manda?"

Orochimaru shrugged, but didn't answer the question.

* * *

><p>"Naruto!" a voice called out to the downed Hokage, who didn't pay it any mind.<p>

The Rokudaime Hokage was deep in though. Was he the one at wrong? Should he have not allowed Hinata have everything her way? The answer was easy. Yes. He had failed as a Hokage, but he wouldn't give up. He would right his wrongs and after that, get Neji to return to the village. His friend was surrounded in darkness once more, just like when they were Genin. And just like back then, he'd cleanse it.

"Naruto!" the voice called out, this time louder, as the source was closer to him. Naruto tilted his head to see Sakura examining him for injuries.

"Sakura... -chan", he said, making the person look at him.

"Don't speak, you baka! I'll heal you!" she ordered, but Naruto just sighed.

"I have no injuries. My tenketsu are just closed", Naruto informed Sakura, making her look at him.

"But-", she began, but was cut off by Naruto, who rose to a sitting position. He then formed the Gentle Fist with his fingers, before reopening some of the tenketsu.

"Hinata taught me how to do this", he said, dropping the '-chan' from the name as he had mixed feelings about the woman with everything said today.

"Then how did Neji beat you?" Sakura asked in disbelief, not receiving an answer.

After Naruto had reopened his tenketsu, he rose to his feet and began walking towards the Hokage tower. Manda had already disappeared, so there was nothing for him to do at the scene.

"Naruto", Sakura said quietly, only for Naruto to ignore her. "Where are you going?"

Naruto paused and glanced at Sakura.

"I need to talk to Kurama."

With that said, he continued walking.

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><p><strong>That's the chapter.<strong>

**Anko has never been seen doing the Gokakyo no Jutsu, but it is a C-rank technique and Anko is seen using another C-rank Katon technique in the anime, so I saw no reason for her to not know the Gokakyu.**

**Also, I fixed some typos and mistakes from the previous three chapters as I noticed so many of them as I re-read them.**

**The next chapter will hopefully come soon after I update my other two stories.**


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